Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan held the 3rd ASEAN-Japan Smart City Network High-Level Meeting in Tokoname City, Aichi Prefecture on October 18th. The meeting was attended by top government officials in charge of infrastructure and representatives of cities in APEC region. Japanese local governments and companies participated in the conference as well to promote advanced examples of smart cities. At the meeting scheduled for two days, the participants will exchange views to deepen cooperation. About 1,000 people from 26 cities in 10 countries that are members of ASEAN Smart City Network are attending the meeting. Mr. Masaru Ishida, Vice-Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and Mr. Nazli Yusof, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transport and Infocommunications, Brunei Darussalam, co-chaired the meeting.

Mr. Tetsuo Saito, Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism delivered a video message at the beginning of the meeting, saying that smart cities can solve socio-economic issues of the post-pandemic society and provide advanced urban services. "I hope that the support provided by the ministry will help solve urban problems and improve the quality of life of citizens.”

Professor Haruo Ishida of Tsukuba University gave a keynote speech at the plenary session. He introduced the efforts of Aizuwakamatsu City in Fukushima Prefecture to showcase "Urban OS," which accumulates and utilizes data on infrastructure such as energy, transportation, and communications. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan introduced "Smart JAMP," a program to support development of smart cities in ASEAN, and reported on its progress.

A panel discussion is scheduled for the second day of the event. The participants are expected to share their views on the issues and strengthen cooperation in tackling the issues. There will also be an opportunity for business matching between the government officials and Japanese private sector.
(2021/10/19)